The man was on the charter for a day\u2019s recreational fishing with workmates but had experience with smaller boats and fishing at the Whakat\u0101ne bar.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d taken the opportunity to stand near the cabin to observe the captain and learn more about \u201cthe running of boats and the conditions of the sea\u201d from a skipper who handled larger vessels.<\/p>\n
On the return journey, about 20 minutes out from the bar, he heard a warning from the coastguard about the bar being a bit \u201ctricky\u201d that day; the man asked the skipper what he planned to do.<\/p>\n
He was told they would see what the conditions looked like.<\/p>\n
When they got there, the man saw large waves crashing against \u201cthe wall\u201d \u2013 an area of sea wall also popular for fishing.<\/p>\n
He asked again what the plan was, and the skipper indicated he was going ahead with crossing the bar.<\/p>\n
The man said he faced a dilemma \u2013 he wasn\u2019t sure if he should warn other passengers about the conditions, but \u201cdidn\u2019t want to alarm everybody\u201d.<\/p>\n
He thought, \u201cThe captain\u2019s made the call [to cross the bar], he should [warn them], not me\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I told my mate, \u2018bro, hold on\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Bandit fishing charter boat \u201cgot caught\u201d by a wave, which he had seen approaching from behind. <\/p>\n
There was no panic by anybody else on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see they were all oblivious to what was going to happen to us, and I watched the wave come up on the side, it came from behind, it started to lift us at the back, and then it came to the side, right where I was, and it rose above the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n
He thought, \u201cI don\u2019t know if we are going to make it\u201d.<\/p>\n
The wave rolled the boat halfway over, throwing passengers over the side of the boat, and the man said he was clinging to a pole.<\/p>\n
He ended up parallel with the sea, and saw at least two men go overboard, one of whom was in his 70s.<\/p>\n
The boat righted itself and other passengers had been injured by objects moving around on deck.<\/p>\n
He said he called out \u201cman overboard\u201d and looked at the skipper, Philip Magee, but claims there was \u201cno reaction\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just looked at me. I could see in his eyes that he was in panic mode,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him, you need to turn this boat around and we need to go back out and get those men.\u201d<\/p>\n
The skipper turned the boat around, and the man said he went to the side of the boat and could see the 79-year-old in the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was up in the channel, so he was coming down towards us … he was coming to me fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went to \u201clean out to grab him\u201d and saw he wasn\u2019t moving, he was \u201cjust going with the current\u201d with his head down and arms up, floating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI leaned down onto the boat and, as he was about 5m from me, maybe more, someone else on the boat, a younger person on the boat … looked over, saw him and just jumped in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they both disappeared …\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until an hour later that he saw a smaller boat and realised it had come to their rescue.<\/p>\n
He was relieved when he realised the man who\u2019d jumped overboard had been rescued, as he was the husband of one of his colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were heroes that day, and he was one of them. He saved that man\u2019s life …\u201d<\/p>\n
The wife had been a hero too.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had said, \u2018Where\u2019s my husband?\u2019, and I told her [he jumped in].\u201d<\/p>\n
During the hour when they didn\u2019t know where the missing men were, or if they\u2019d been rescued, the wife \u2013 a registered nurse \u2013 had tended to those injured on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how she put that aside … she didn\u2019t ask anything after that. She just got stuck in and helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the injured women had needed to be moved from the Bandit to the Coastguard vessel, and the passengers helped with the manoeuvre.<\/p>\n
After the Coastguard left, the skipper \u201cfinally came out, and he faced us\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked at us, he had a half smile, and he just said, \u2018you fellas will have a story to tell your grandchildren, won\u2019t you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bandit, operated by Cascade Charters, was hit by a wave, causing it to pitch and throw passengers overboard. Photo \/ Cascade Charters<\/p>\n
The man said he couldn\u2019t wait to get off the boat and see his wife, who\u2019d been waiting for him, but was unsettled about a week later while whitebaiting, when he saw the same charter boat, with the same skipper, returning from fishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could hear the radio blasting, I could hear them talking and laughing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019d finished the day and they were coming in to moor their boat … On a day … just a week later, where they know two people nearly lost their lives. Could have been three, could have been four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cascade Charters defends charge at nine-day trial<\/p>\n
Cascade Charters Ltd and skipper Magee were prosecuted by Maritime New Zealand for failing to ensure the health and safety of passengers.<\/p>\n
While Magee pleaded guilty to the charge on the morning of trial, Cascade Charters defended it in a nine-day judge-alone trial.<\/p>\n